Email volume was way up this holiday season and made it more important than ever to grab a recipient's attention quickly. Increasingly, the way to do this is through animation. I've seen an increase in animation in email by retailers and wanted to share a few examples. 

One of the trends I noticed was animation for the call to action, or to highlight the offer. J. Jill had a 5 days of gifts promotion, and animated the countdown in the series of emails.

 

 

 

Here's the animated section in action:

In this email from Boden, they use animation to reinforce the urgency of the one-day deal. The text changes from Monday to One Day to Today. Click the email to see the animation.

Another trend was animating products, like in this Coldwater Creek example, where the sweaters stack up. Click the image to see the animated version. 

Then there are animated design elements. OpenSky has been experimenting with adding subtle animation to their hero images. This example features host and hostess gifts and uses an image of the ribbons from the gift box blowing in the wind.

In this example from CVS, to emphasize their gift card offer, they add a garland of animated gift cards at the bottom of the section. Click the email to view the animated version. 

 

Do you think we'll continue to see an increase in animated elements in email? I'd love to see any examples that cut through the clutter in your inbox this holiday. 

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate,

e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz